Even with the air conditioner on high my solar panel system still makes enough power to add 2 000 watts into the batteries.
How many solar panels to power air conditioner.
Assuming that the air conditioning unit requires 1500 waats of power a collection of 6 solar panels at 250 waats capacity could in theory power the air conditioning unit but a lot of individual factors can throw this number in either direction.
These numbers only take into account the energy needed for air conditioning.
So smaller portable air conditioners or window units would be able to run on the yeti power station we looked at above.
A few factors determine how many solar panels you will require to run an air conditioner.
This number will be the number of solar panels necessary to cover your air conditioning needs.
I actually gave away my original 18000btu unit to install a 10000btu inverter.
A single solar panel is going to charge your batteries much too slowly you ll use up the stored electricity faster than the solar panel can charge them again.
So to power a 13 500 btu air conditioner 1 500 watts of solar panels is the minimum required.
How much you use the air conditioner.
The higher number of watts per panel the less of them you ll need to generate your full electricity needs.
More is needed with more clouds.
The short answer is the number of solar panels depends on which solar panels and air conditioner you have.
My inverter ac unit can use as little as 240watts right up to its maximum rating.
This is the most energy efficient type in the industry and it is simply amazing.
How many watts an air conditioner uses depends not only on the btu but what kind of ac it is.
Solar panels come in a range of sizes.
For example a portable ac like the honeywell 10000 btu only requires 880 watts.
This allows me to run the ac full blast to keep my house nice and cool.
In order to meet this need the solar panels would be required to generate 107 amps 7 hours every day this is if it is a clear sunny day.
Most on the market today are between 250 365 w.
The only option for solar powered air conditioning is to use an inverter air conditioning unit.
So we ll assume these to give you an idea.
When it s hottest and the sun is shining the brightest i can make lots of power.
So will any solar generator be able to run your air conditioner.
To provide about 14 5 kwh of electricity each day in arizona you d need a 3kw solar installation or a system with about 12 solar panels.